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Luke 2:41-52 Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor. For Christmas my beautiful wife gave me a copy of the movie, machine gun preacher. It is the true story of a man name Sam Childers, an American preacher who has devoted his time and his treasure to saving orphaned and kidnapped children in Southern Sudan from the brutal Joseph Kony - you may have heard of him , he was the subject of the massive social media campaign Kony 2012... Now this all sounds lovely - a preacher devotes his life to saving children from being forced to operate as child soldiers - except Sam Childers is not your typical preacher - he is a former alcoholic drug addict, who has spent time in prison... a man who we see in the early scenes of the movie portraying his life repeatedly stabbing a man. No Sam Childers is not your typical preacher - He was a degenerate, drain on society - he was a loser.

Then something amazing happened to this man, his wife Lynn who had found faith in Christ during Sam's incarceration took hi to church. Sam found that despite his failings, despite his past, he was in fact a loved member of the family of God. He found that he was in fact an heir and inheritor to the Kingdom of God, and that all he had to do to claim his inheritance was receive the gift of forgiveness that was offered to him - and to all of us - through Jesus. Sam grasped that gift in both hands and took it. Sam was forgiven for all he had done, not just by God, but by his wife and family who could see the transformation in his life. Sam went fro being a nobody, to being a member of a royal priesthood!

You see that is how the family of God operates. We see it in today's Gospel reading clearly - When Mary and Joseph left Jerusalem after the Passover, they didn't anxiously seek out their son, they assumed that if he wasn't with them, that he was with his extended family - those relatives and friends that had travelled with them to the festival. You see there was a recognition that the family is more than our immediate blood relatives, family was much more communal, this despite the great emphasis placed on genealogy. When he is found Jesus is with yet another version of extended family - those entrusted to teach the Law in his Father's house, and as his life continues Jesus further expands the bounds of family when he offers salvation to all people, to Jew and Gentile, to slave and free, to man and woman - and the gift is open to all - no matter how great the crimes of your past, if you turn to him, he will forgive you. I have heard people dear to me say repeatedly that it is to late for them - and I bet you have heard people say this or similar things - perhaps even you wonder if Jesus really can forgive you for the wrongs you have done, for the hurt you have caused. I tell you he forgave Sam Childers, he has forgiven me, and he will forgive you, if only you seek him out.

During this time of year, when we are often recovering from our time spent with family over Christmas - or for others dealing with the pain of not having family with us any more, it is important that we step back and take time to give thanks for what we do have. When you grasp that gift of forgiveness that Jesus is holding out to you, you become a part of a bigger family, a family that is made up of people just like you - some are rich, some are poor. Some were raised in Christian homes - others like me are adult converts, some have never had a run in with the law, and others are reformed thieves, addicts and even murderers. None of them perfect, some of them like your blood relatives will drive you mad, but the thing that unites us, the thing that makes us brothers and sisters, is not blood. It is that we have all been remade, through the forgiveness and redemption given to us through accepting Jesus our old selves are buried and we rise remade as members of the body - the family - of Christ.

I would like to close by reading to you our set reading for today from the book of Colossians, remember that when you accept Jesus' gift of salvation you are set apart, you become a part of the royal family and so in the word of St Paul:

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

May almighty God bless you and yours this week and in the new year.Daryl.

If you want to learn more about the offer of forgiveness that is open to you through Jesus please contact me, either by commenting on the website or using the contact us page to email me. You can also contact us through facebook and twitter. Alternatively contact a priest or minister at a Christian Church close to you.

Luke 1:39-55 (NRSV) In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’ There are many at this time of year who struggle, who feel marginalised, ostracised or oppressed. There are many who mourn the absence of loved ones - and some who mourn their presence... There are many who struggle with the stresses of this season as we desperately try to meet the cultural expectation spend up big. There are many more who feel the stress, and the accompanying shame and guilt of not being able to provide adequately for their loved ones. There are no doubt many of you listening to (or reading) this right now who identify with this pressure, stress, or marginalisation. Today's Gospel reading is for you.

We begin today's Gospel scene immediately after the annunciation (the appearance of the Arch-Angel Gabriel to Mary to advise her of her virginal conception), during His appearance Gabriel also advised Mary of Elizabeth's pregnancy, and following his departure, Luke tells us that Mary '...set out with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth'. Mary is eager to see her cousin, who like her has miraculously conceived a child, Mary knows the ridicule and marginalisation that Elizabeth has endured due to being barren, and she is eager to confirm for her the work of God in all that is happening. Mary no doubt is also seeking the support and consolation of her cousin, as she becomes the subject of scorn in a society that didn't look favourably on unwed mothers.

The baby in Elizabeth's womb leaps at the sound of Mary's voice - seemingly recognising that the Lord of Lords is present. Then the Holy Spirit fills Elizabeth, who exclaims those words which are so familiar to those of us who come from the Catholic side of the faith - 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb'! These words are read and spoken so often by Christians, and often the focus in our mind is on what they tell us about the Blessed Virgin, however I want us to consider this a little deeper than the obvious statement about Mary being blessed. I wonder have you considered that this is the first proclamation of Jesus coming as Lord?

Consider the scene for a moment - the first proclamation of the the coming of the Messiah who will redeem Israel, and indeed the world is anticipated and proclaimed, not by archangels or high priests or emperors or even ordained preachers. Rather, two marginalised, pregnant women—one young, poor, and unwed, the other far beyond the age to conceive—meet in the hill country of Judea to celebrate (and possibly commiserate about) their miraculous pregnancies. A baby leaps in the womb and blessings are shared. Astonishment is expressed and Songs are sung.

Yes, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings is first acknowledged and proclaimed by two women... Two women who were no doubt the subject of much ridicule and stigma - Mary after all was an unwed pregnant teenager - consider how today's comparatively liberal society still denigrates and looks down on women in the same situation, and then consider how it would have been for her living in ancient Jewish society where such a situation was not just embarrassing - but shameful. Likewise consider how society still treats women who have reached their mature years without ever having had children - there is, shamefully in today's world still a stigma, a view that these women, are incomplete - not real women, or that they are simply selfish. Imagine then the views expressed of barren Elizabeth, who had not born any children, in a society where family and heirs were how your worth were expressed - Where a woman's worth especially was determined by how many sons she bore her husband.

Yet it was these two, ostracised, marginalised women whom God chose to bring the final prophet of the old covenant - John - and the fulfilment of that covenant - Jesus - into the world. It was these two women who first proclaimed the coming of the King! We see in this account the first tearing down of barriers to the Kingdom, the first signs of what the coming reign of Jesus will be like. The Kingdom which leads St Paul to write in his letter to the Galatians that 'There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.' (Galatians 3:28 NRSV).

The story of these two pregnant women, with their mutual support of and confirmation of each other, a story of two marginalised and scorned women and their faith, tells us much about this creator whom we worship. It tells us that God does not look on us with human eyes. When God looks to us Hesees who we are, in our deepest being. When He looked at Elizabeth He didn't see the woman society sees, He didn't see a woman who deserved to be ridiculed, or judged. He didn't see a woman who needed pity - rather he saw a woman who would bear the prophet who would prepare a way for the Lord! He saw a woman who would be the FIRST to proclaim the coming of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

Likewise when God looked to Mary, and chose her to bear Jesus, He did so because He could see who she truly was. He knew that this poor, peasant girl in her heart was destined to be the mother of God incarnate. He knew that it was Mary who had the love, the purity of heart and the faith required to become the mother of God. He knew that she would suffer ridicule, and her condition would be considered shameful, and so of course did Mary when she said ‘...Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word...’ (Luke 1:38), She knew that she would be an outcast, but she chose to accept God's will for her life - and truly since then all generations have called her blessed!. God knew that Mary was right for the task that He had planned for her, just as he knows that you are right for the task he has planned for you.

As we await the coming of the King, dealing with the stress, the sadness, the loneliness that comes to many at this time of year, Let us take comfort knowing that God knows us - really knows us, and loves us - really loves us. God does not hold our failings and faults against us - indeed they are all forgiven through the redeeming work of Jesus, when we place our faith in Him. God knows what you are destined for, he sees in you, your true potential and your true purpose. I invite you to turn to him, and to hand over your stress, your feelings of loneliness, or rejection to Him, and when you do, be prepared to say to Him - what ever path he lays out before you - 'let it be done to me according to your word'.

7 John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 9 Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’ 10 And the crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do?’ 11 In reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.’ 12 Even tax-collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ 13 He said to them, ‘Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.’ 14 Soldiers also asked him, ‘And we, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.’ 15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’ 18 So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. I have often been involved in conversations with people over the course of my life and particularly over the last several years who have this idea that Christianity teaches that in order to get to heaven all they have to do is be baptised and be 'good'. It is especially frustrating when the person expressing this view is someone who claims to be a Christian. Now I am not saying these people are insincere in their belief, I have found most are very sincere - they are however dead wrong. Another favourite often extolled by atheist evangelists is that people only believe in the Christian concept of God because they are afraid of going to hell - that Christianity's main recruiting strategy is to scare people into the Kingdom.

John the Baptist certainly didn't believe that fear was an acceptable reason to come to repentance and enter God's good graces... Lets examine what John has to say to this crowd who had come - apparently to repent and be baptised. John opens his address to the crowd rather scathingly... ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. John knows that those who have come to him are not there out of a genuine will to repent and come closer to God - they are there to simply avoid ' the wrath to come'. This is simply not good enough, and John demands genuine repentance, and a genuine changing of the heart which will bear the fruit of repentance. John demands not that they simply go through the ritual and be 'good', he demands that they genuinely turn away from their sin and display their new found faith in the way that they live. John's warning is clear, you can go through the ritual if you want, but if you aren't living your faith genuinely then... Do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’ You see John is warning them that if they repent to save themselves only, and don't live a life of faith, that they are wasting their time - they will end up in the same place. It is similar is it not to the message that James gives us in his letter - faith without works is dead.

Now like James, John isn't preaching that we can earn our way to salvation, rather he teaches us that when our motivation is right - when we are focused on God and not on ourselves, then we will bear fruit in our lives. When we are focused on God, we will share our spare shirt with the one with none, we will provide food for the needy, we will not extort and rob from those around us in order to serve our own needs. No, when we are focused on God and His Kingdom we see the futility of storing up wealth for ourselves at the expense of others, after all when we understand God's purpose and goal for humanity we also begin to understand his love for us, his forgiveness, and his generosity.

We are called by our creator and our saviour to live our lives in relationship with him. We cannot be in relationship with him if we are not living lives in alignment with his nature. We cannot be in relationship with God if we ignore the needy, for God teaches us to care for them. We cannot be in relationship with God if we ignore injustice - for God is just. John as he prepares the way for the Lord, is telling us something very very important about our salvation. Our salvation cannot be bought, and it cannot be earned. We will not be saved by being baptised if we don't have faith to accompany it. We will not be saved through turning up to church each week, or as so many do now by turning up at Christmas. We are saved by the grace of God through faith. Faith that is genuine (not a get out of jail free card) and which has its focus on God - and not on us.

John exemplifies this kind of faith, in all he does he takes no glory for himself, John understands that it is not about him. When the people begin to wonder at John's teaching and question whether he might be the messiah, John does not think to himself 'oh I must be doing a good job - I'm sure to get my ticket to heaven now!' ... No, John when the people begin to place their focus on him, to praise him, rather does what he always did - what he and all of us are called to do - he pointed to God. He even went so far as to say he is not worthy to untie the sandal of the one who is coming after him... this may seem a small thing in our eyes, but to John and his audience it had big implications. John was saying that he was not even worthy to be treated as a lowest ranking servant. Rather than thinking he should be rewarded for his work, John acknowledged that he was not worthy of the gift that was coming.

As we approach Christmas, it is a time for all of us to examine our own faith. Are we living out our faith in such a way as to bear fruit? Do others look at us and see people of faith or just 'nice people'? If John the Baptist were standing in front of you and you asked him what must I do?... what would he say to you?

John taught us that our focus, our lives and our faith must always be directed to God - and not to ourselves. We cannot earn our way to heaven through rituals and being 'good people', we must live a genuine faith, we must walk in accordance to the will of God and bear fruit for the kingdom. So as we approach this time of Christmas let us keep our focus on God and the coming of his Kingdom.

I remember as a child my eager anticipation at the coming of Santa Claus, I would diligently go to bed early on Christmas eve, and be up as early as I thought I could get away with ... often times it was still dark when I would sneak out into the lounge room and begin to rummage through the presents looking for mine... What had the big red fella brought me this time?!... Christmas was a joyful time for me, I have some wonderful memories of water fights and back yard cricket on Christmas day, and some great memories of time spent with family and friends. However it also always had a time of disappointment... that moment when you realised - that's it, I don't have any more presents. It is easy to see why people don't think there is any need for Jesus in Christmas nowadays, we as a society have turned it into a cultural celebration of getting rather than a commemoration of giving. When I look back now I wonder how much more joyful it could have been if the real meaning of Christmas had been a part of our celebrations, if only I had understood then that Christmas meant that I could accept a gift that would last for eternity... It is an amazing thing, when you consider the gift which Christ gave us on that very first Christmas. He gave us himself in human form - in the words of St Paul, he 'humbled himself', in order to be born as one of us. Jesus we must remember was already a part of the Trinity, he was in Heaven, where he had been for eternity - and he chose to become one of us and be born as a human baby in order that he might reconcile us to God. He knew before he came what the end result would be also - can you imagine the amount of love it takes to make a voluntary choice to remove yourself from a place of eternal bliss, where there is no pain, no suffering... to make a decision to to leave that existence to be born as a helpless infant, knowing that you would grow - going through all the pain, suffering and temptation that all humans go through - and knowing that your reward for this choice would be the tortuous death of crucifixion... what a love is this... and what a gift!

In this week's readings we see that much preparation went into the offering of this gift... John the Baptist was born with the specific purpose to prepare the way for the Lord, the same Lord which his father sings of in our reading from Luke 1. Isaiah foretold of his coming and of John's role in preparing the way... There was much thought that went into this gift, and much pain and suffering in its delivery. Yet all we are called to do is accept it - no strings attached. If we accept this free gift of love offered to us by God, we become not only forgiven - but we become heirs and inheritors of the Kingdom!

Why then I wonder aren't more of us who have accepted this gift like John? Why in this world of consumerism are we not proclaiming the Gospel louder than ever? Why, brothers and sisters are we not preparing the way for the Lord? We have been given a gift - a gift of love greater than anything we could imagine - and we have the ability to pass that gift on to those around us... what is great about this gift is that when we re-gift it we also get to keep it!

So, as we continue on our journey of preparation for the coming of the Lord - let's be voices crying in the wilderness of consumerism 'prepare the way for the Lord'. Let's ensure that Christmas is not just a happy time of 'getting' let's proclaim the message that it is a commemoration of the giving of the greatest gift ever - what better time than now could there be to give someone the gift of salvation through Jesus?

I pray that the God whose love far surpasses our understanding will richly bless you and yours during this continuing time of Advent.

The Word This Week:Jeremiah 33:14-16Psalm 25:1-101 Thessalonians 3:9-13Luke 21:25-36Thoughts on The Word:Happy New Year! Today marks the beginning of the Chruchs' liturgical year. The beginnning of the season we call Advent is a time of anticipation, of expectation and excitement. Excitement not only at the upcoming festivities of Christmas where we recall the first advent of our Lord, when he appeared among us as a baby, born to a virgin. Excitement also as we anticipate the second advent of our Lord and saviour when he returns as a triumphant King! Last week we saw imagery of this great King, and learnt about his Kingship and how we can be participants in the kingdom. This week we see some more imagery of our triumphant King in our Gospel as Jesus foretells of his return with great power and glory. However there is also a warning in this - the time of his return will see much fear, and foreboading. You see the return of Christ will bring much joy for those of us who have accepted Him, but it will also bring a great realisation to all those who have rejected him of what they have done - and what now awaits them. When Jesus returns, he will come in a position of judgement on creation, and those who have willingly and knowingly rejected him will need to give an account - so to will those of us who have accepted his offer of salvation. The difference is when our list of transgressions are recounted before the throne of Judgement we can respond confidently to each charge ';guilty, but pardoned through the atoning work of my saviour'. Sadly there are many who will not say those words or something similar... ther are literally billions of people on this planet who have not accepted the open invitation to forgiveness which is before them. During this time of Advent then, when we both remember the first coming and anticipate the second coming of our Lord, let us renew our own committment to be ambassadors of Christ to the world. We are called to be beacons of the hope and love of Christ. We are called to be proclaimers of the Gospel, through our words, and through our actions. In this season of Advent then, as we have at the forefront of our minds both the joy we will feel, and the anguish and fear that awaits those who do not know our Lord at his second coming, let us examine ourselves and our lives to ensure we are beacons and ambassadors of Christ, let us "Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly...". Let us also though re-commit ourselves to taking every opportunity given us to proclaim the Gospel, let us not be ashamed of it lest we cause one more person to come before our Lord at his second advent and hear the words “...You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels...' (Matthew 25:41 - NRSV)May God richly bless you this week and throughout this ne Christian year.Daryl.